


next door

by heroicgay



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, I also suck at Summaries, M/M, Neighbors, Newt is gay, also thomas is incredibly awkward, i'm awful at taggings, newt is a college freshman, oh and thomas wears glasses, thats about it, they're neighbors, thomas is 18 newt is 20, thomas is a highschool senior, thomas is bi, will not be continued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:35:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heroicgay/pseuds/heroicgay
Summary: With graduation approaching and the responsibilities of adulthood coming at him fast, the last thing Thomas needed was a new neighbor. Especially not an attractive British blonde named Newt.** THIS FIC WILL NOT BE CONTINUED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.





	1. Chapter 1

     “Yeah, yeah, mom I got everything on the shopping list, I swear,” Thomas assured, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder as he struggled to carry all three grocery bags as well as his house key.

“Are you sure? You tend to get distracted at the store,” Ms. Murphy spoke on the other end of the line.

“What? How do I get distracted at the store? Nobody gets distracted at the store!” He scoffed, glaring at the doorknob while he struggled to unlock their house.

“So Minho doesn’t distract you?”

“No, he doesn’t distract me. He….assists me with shopping. Because that’s his job. It’s not his fault he’s also my best friend.”

“Mhm, right. If I get home and anything is missing, you’re going back to get it.”

“I guarantee you that— _ah shit!_ Mom, I gotta go,” The boy sighed, watching as his house key fell to the pavement. Though in an attempt to grab his phone to hang up the call, his phone joined his key on the ground. “Oh for fucks sake.”

Laughter from nearby caught his attention and he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, searching for the source with his eyes squinted. In the driveway of the house right next to his was a boy leaned against a moving van, staring right at him with the biggest smile. Strands of windblown hair were hanging down in his face and Thomas swears he’d never seen someone so attractive in his whole life. It didn’t even register to him that the stranger was laughing at _him_ , though, so he smiled brightly back and waved.

“Uh, hi! Hey! I’m — I’m Thomas,” He called out and then was mentally slapping himself because of how completely awkward that was.

The blonde tilted his head to the side before looking over to the doorway of his own house, seemingly engaging in a conversation that was inaudible to him. Thomas was about to go back to the task of getting inside the house when the other male began walking across their shared lawns.

“Sorry mate, what were you saying?” He questioned.

And, okay, was it normal for Thomas to feel like his heart was going to fly right out of his chest and smack this incredibly handsome — and apparently _British_ — stranger in the face? Because that’s totally what he was experiencing.

“My name. It’s Thomas. Thomas Murphy.”

“Thomas? Like the little blue tank engine?” He raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly.

“W—what?”

“Come on, really? Surely you know Thomas the Tank.”

“ _Oh._ Oh, yeah. I know what you’re talking about,” He frowned, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. Great. Cute boy has officially associated him with a character marketed to preschoolers.

“Well, my name’s Newt. Newt Ross, if we’re doing the whole last name thing as well. Feel free to make some jokes about my name if it makes you feel any better,” Newt spoke as he crouched down to Thomas' level.

“I think you’ve got a really great name,” Thomas replied, completely mesmerized by the male in front of him. His brain was definitely short circuiting.

Newt briefly observed him with an unreadable expression, then broke out into that same bright smile he’d had minutes ago. He found the situation (or maybe just Thomas) both amusing and adorable. The blonde was about to make some sort of flirtatious comment when he noticed that the younger boy had ice cream that was definitely melting. He picked up Thomas’ phone and key, handing them to him before grabbing all three bags and standing up. “Suppose I should do the neighborly thing and help you haul all this in your house.”

Thomas was still sat on the ground, staring up at Newt like a dazed idiot. Newt laughed soft and bumped his foot against Thomas’ knee. “Earth to Thomas. Come on, your ice cream is melting and I suspect that you’ll have a very angry parent on your back if it turns completely to liquid.”

The idea of his angry mother was enough to snap the boy out of his daze, apologizing quickly as he jumped to his feet and unlocked the door, holding it open for Newt. “So….so are you new in the neighborhood?” He asked despite how obvious it was.

“Yeah, it’s my mum, my sister, and me. I got accepted into the university about five minutes from here. Couldn’t afford campus housing alone but also couldn’t find someone that didn’t totally give me the creeps to room with so mum used it as an excuse to relocate the whole family. A bit embarrassing considering I’m twenty, but it’s convenient,” The blonde shrugged, placing Thomas’ groceries on the counter and taking it upon himself to put the ice cream in the freezer.

“Wow. College? I haven’t even applied to any. I’m meant to be graduating in two months though, so maybe I should get on that,” He sighed before adding, “I’m eighteen, by the way.”

Of course it was completely unnecessary to point that out but hey, he wasn’t going to withhold information that _might_ be useful in the future, okay?

Newt opened his mouth to comment when the text sounder on his phone went off. He removed the device from his pocket, rolling his eyes as he read whatever was on the screen. “It’s my sister. I’ve gotta run. But hey, don’t be a stranger, okay? I expect a serious grand gesture to repay me for saving your ass _and_ your ice cream today.”

“My mom makes some pretty great peanut butter cookies, I could probably convince her to make you some as a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gift?” Thomas offered.

“Perfect,” Newt grinned before turning and heading for the door, however he froze in the doorway and looked back to the brunette. “You know, Thomas the Tank, you don’t seem so bad. I think you’re gonna be an alright neighbor.”

Then he was gone, and Thomas was so, so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

     “Teresa, I think Thomas may be going through mental crisis,” Minho whispered, tapping the girls shoulder with the handle of his plastic spoon.

She rolled her eyes in response and gently punched him in the shoulder. “Just because Tom can’t stop staring at the clock doesn’t mean he’s in a mental crisis.”

“Well what would you call it?”

“Thomas being his naturally awkward and weird self?”

“Hey! I can hear the both of you, you know,” Thomas lifted his head, aiming a glare at the pair that sat across from him.

“Ah, it speaks!” The other male shrieked, resulting in a french fry being chucked at his head. The boy caught the fry before it fell into his lap, examining it briefly then shoved it in his mouth with a shrug. “But seriously, man, what’s your deal? You’ve been like this all day. Honestly, if I didn’t know you so well, I’d probably be thinking that you had the best sex of your life but we all know the only action you get is from your hand.”

Thomas slammed his head down against the table with a groan. It wasn’t like he could even be offended at the comment because it was entirely true. He may as well have had the word ‘virgin’ tattooed on every inch of visible flesh. “You can’t just drop those kinds of pathetic facts about me when you want me to open up to you, Minho, we’ve been over this.”

“What kind of pathetic facts?” Brenda interrupted, placing her lunch tray on the table and settling down next to Teresa.

“The pathetic fact of Thomas’ inability to get any sort of physical action,” Teresa supplied before kissing the girl on the cheek and placing a hand on her knee. The two had been dating for about five months which was kind of devastating but also totally amazing. If Thomas weren’t so jealous, it’d just be one hundred percent amazing. But, yeah, he was jealous. Not because he had feelings for either of the girls (it’d be weird if he did, they were like sisters to him) but because he’d never been in a relationship. Not a serious one, anyway. And at this rate he was beginning to wonder if he’d ever be.

“And why is that the topic of choice for today?”

“Minho thinks Thomas is in a mental crisis because he’s been zoned out a lot today so he made a point of ruling out the possibility of him being in some kind of post-sex haze.”

“Ah, got it. Okay, carry on,” Brenda grinned then shoved a forkful of salad in her mouth.

“Right, okay, _so_. You know what Ms. Paige says — there’s no time better than the present. In other words, spill. Right now, because you’re seriously freaking me out,” Minho said seriously, not even attempting to touch the food on his own plate. That’s how you knew he meant business.

Thomas massaged his temples for a few moments before coming to the conclusion that it’d be easier to just give in. Besides, maybe his friends could provide some real insight on the situation at hand. “My life has changed forever,” He started dramatically, earning deep sighs and eye rolls from the other three. “No, seriously! I was coming home from doing the grocery shopping for my mom yesterday and I ended up dropping my phone and keys, okay? So I get on the ground to pick everything up and hear the most _angelic_ laugh of all time. I look, and leaned against a moving truck at the house **right next to mine** is this gorgeous guy smiling right at me! His name is Newt. He’s twenty and a college freshman. We talked for a couple minutes and he helped me carry my groceries inside. When he left, he told me not to be a stranger. Oh, and he gave me a nickname. And now I can’t stop thinking about him because at this very moment my mother is at home baking her speciality peanut butter cookies for me to deliver to his family after school.”

When he looked, his friends were staring at him with raised brows and wide eyes. Definitely not the reaction he’d been hoping for. Why couldn’t they at least pretend to share his enthusiasm?

Brenda cleared her throat, deciding to be the first to break the silence. “Okay….so let’s start with the nickname thing. What is it? Babe? Honey? Sweetie?” 

“Thomas the Tank,” He stated matter-of-factly. There was about five more seconds of terribly awkward silence before Minho, Brenda, and Teresa were all bursting out into hysterical laughter. And of course he knew that the nickname was completely humiliating, he wasn’t some obliviously pathetic ninth grader. But Newt was something new and exciting which Thomas rarely got in his life. That naturally made everything involving him feel like a big deal.

“You guys are all assholes,” He sighed, moving to get up from the table. The four of them had all been best friends since first grade and never once had he been seriously mad at them for any reason but that certainly didn’t mean that they never annoyed the hell out of him.

“Tom, wait! Stop! We’re sorry, okay? You have to admit that it _is_ funny, though,” Teresa said, pursing her lips to hold back a laugh.

He rolled his eyes and plopped back down on the bench. “Yeah, it is a pretty fucking stupid nickname. I’m just excited, you know? I’ve never gotten that stereotypical neighborhood crush experience and Newt is like a walking dream. I know I’m talking crazy as if I’m some lovesick puppy but is that really such a bad thing?”

Brenda put a hand over her heart, her expression resembling that of a proud mom. “Okay, this is officially the cutest thing ever. Forgot that I was just laughing at you. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for so long. And the fact that you’re having your mom make her cookies for him? Absolutely adorable. First encounter sounded a bit awkward but if he told you to not be a stranger, he must not have minded. So, yeah, you’ve got all of that going for you. There is a few issues, though.”

“What issues?” Thomas asked with a frown.

“He’s a _college boy_.”

“Yeah, so? What’s the problem with that?”

Minho dramatically smacked his hand against the table, giving Thomas that famous ‘ _are you fucking stupid_ ’ face. “College is completely different from high school, man. This guy is going to be eating, breathing, and just straight up living the twenty-four seven party life. How many parties have you been to? _Actual_ parties. With loud music, drinks, noise complaints, and bad decisions all around.”

“None. My mom would never let me go to a party, you know that. That’s why you guys always go without me.”

“Exactly! You think she’ll let you start hanging around a college man? Not a chance, Thomas.”

“Shit, you’re right. I — I don’t know, I’ll figure it out,” He shrugged. He’d just met Newt, the last thing he wanted to be thinking about was that their friendship would be potentially forbidden by his mom. Not that he technically had to listen to her. But as long as he was living under her roof he had to go by her rules.

All of them jumped when the sound of the bell began ringing throughout the cafeteria, signaling the ending of their lunch period. None of them had even realized just how much time had went by.

“Sorry, Thomas,” Brenda said sympathetically with Teresa adding, “Let us know how the whole cookie thing goes, okay?”

He nodded and watched as his friends vanished into the crowd before slinging his backpack over his shoulder and headed in the opposite direction to his next class, trying not to let thoughts of Newt cloud his head for the rest of the school day.

—

Thomas tossed his bag down near the door, smiling softly as the scent of his mother's cookies filled his nose. Nothing could ever top that recipe. It was apparently one that his great-grandmother had come up with and ended up passing down through the family. His mom had been making them for as long as he could remember. Bake sales, sleepovers, birthday parties, holidays, or any time he came home with a good grade on his report card (which was basically always). At this point it was basically a right of passage as Thomas’ friend to try the cookies at _least_ once.

The boy walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders, watching as she neatly stacked the fresh cookies into a container. “Mom, they smell amazing,” He said proudly before kissing her on the cheek. Her face lit up at that. She always got excited whenever Thomas showed her any kinds of appreciation and he never quite understood because he couldn’t remember a time that he didn’t appreciate her.

“Thank you, baby. Everything’s just about ready to take over to the neighbors. You know, it’s extremely sweet that you wanted do something like this. I’m proud of you. I raised a good kid,” She beamed up at him, patting his cheek before moving over to the table. “Would you get that container sealed up? I’ve got to finish writing this for you to take over.”

With a quirked brow he snapped the lid down onto the container before picking it up and walking over to where his mother was sat, peeking over her shoulder to see what she was writing. It appeared to be a list with a bunch of phone numbers and addresses on it. “Mom, are you making them a directory to the town? Come on, that’s ridiculous. I’m _not_ taking that.”

She raised her head and gave him _that_ look (that ‘I put you in this world and I can take you out, too’ look), causing him huff out a groan and sit down beside her until she was finished. The second she put the pen down he was snatching up the paper, neatly folding it before jumping up from his chair and practically bolting for the door.

“Thomas!” She called out in annoyance.

“Sorry! Thanks mom, see you in a bit!” He called back, then was out the door in time to be spared of her ranting. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the house for a few moments in preparation before cutting across the yard and walking up the little path to the door. There was a small wooden sign nailed above the bell reading “ _The Ross Family_ ” which caused him to smile. Not wanting to chicken out before he actually was able to see Newt, he quickly pressed his finger against the bell button.

“Coming!” A distant voice called from inside the house, only a few moments delay until the door swung open. And…. **holy shit**. If Thomas broke out into a heart attack on their front porch, he was certain everyone would understand why. Because standing in front of him was Newt (of course) in a pair of grey sweatpants, a white tanktop, and his hair a sweaty mess. “Thomas, hey!”

“Hi, Newt. Uh…. _oh_! I brought the cookies!” The boy grinned, holding up the container.

“Of course you did. I knew you wouldn’t disappoint,” Newt laughed softly and accepted the container from Thomas before stepping to the side, “You wanna come in? The place is a bit of a mess, obviously, but….” He trailed off with a shrug.

“I don’t mind mess. I probably can’t stay long anyway. Just — I’ve got homework and stuff, you know,” Thomas said quietly as he stepped into the house with his hands shoved in his pockets. Resisting the urge to stare at Newt was _really_ hard. Practically impossible, actually.

Newt curiously opened the plastic container of cookies, shoving one in his mouth with a thoughtful expression, looking over to Thomas with his eyes widened in surprise. He waited until he’d finished the entire cookie to speak. “You could’ve warned me that your mom was a baking goddess, mate. No way in hell I’m sharing these with my family,” He laughed, grabbing a second cookie. Except instead of taking a bite, he handed it to Thomas.

“You just said you weren’t going to share?”

“Yeah, with my _family_. You’re not family. You’re Tommy.”

“Tommy?” The boy asked, cheeks turning a bit pink. Nobody had ever called him that before.

“You didn’t seem to like Thomas the Tank much. Besides, it’s cute. Suits you better,” He smirked.

If this were a cartoon, Thomas’ glasses would most likely be steaming up right now. Because holy shit. New nickname, a smirk, and implying that he was cute. _Don’t be weird,_ He thought _._ Except apparently he didn’t just think it because now Newt was looking at him a bit confused and definitely offended.

“I’m sorry?”

“No! Nononono, not you. You — you’re **perfect**. I’m the weird one. My friends say it all the time. I’m just...weird and stupid. Sorry. I swear, I didn’t mean to say that. Not to you, anyway. To me. Because—”

“Tommy, hey, calm down, alright? You’re not weird or stupid. At least I don’t think so. Maybe just a bit clumsy with your house key and cellphone when coming home with groceries but that’s about it. So don’t listen to your friends. I’m sure they’re good people with good intentions, but I’m pretty sure they’re wrong about you,” He said sincerely, placing a comforting hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “Also, I’m not perfect, but I’m really honored that you seem to think so. Even though I’m certain you’re just basing your opinion of appearance. That’s alright, though. I don’t mind it.”

“What? I — am I that obvious?” Thomas sighed, frowning.

“Oh, absolutely. No doubt about it,” Newt grinned and grabbed another cookie from the container then closed the lid, placing it atop a nearby box. “Anyway, I’ve got to keep trying to unpack things and you look like you’re about to die from embarrassment plus you said you’ve got homework, so you should probably get going.”

“Right. Yeah. I’m glad you like the cookies. I’ll be sure to tell my mom. Maybe I can build a zipline between our windows and just send them over in a little basket for you,” He joked lamely. Newt genuinely laughed, though, and pat Thomas on the back.

“Good that,” He grinned, leading the younger boy to the door and holding it open.

Thomas started down the path to the sidewalk when he decided to turn around and honestly, he regretted it the second he did. Because Newt was propped against the doorway eating his cookie and watching him, that damned tanktop riding up his torso. He’d have trouble getting that out of his head for sure.

“Everything alright, Tommy?” He called out with an amused expression.

“Uh, yeah! Great!” He replied, giving a thumbs up.

Newt rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Go home,” He laughed before shutting the door.

Thomas stood there for a few moments thinking that maybe Newt would come back. He didn’t. The boy mentally cursed himself and began the extremely short walk back to his own house. When he got inside, instead of replying to his mom who immediately began talking to him, he pulled out a phone and sent a message to the group chat his friends had.

 **from:** thomas

 **to:** worlds worst friends™

update — he calls me tommy.


	3. Chapter 3

            It’d been five days since Thomas had last seen Newt, seven since they’d spoken. He knew that he really shouldn’t be so bummed out about it but at the same time he kind of couldn’t help it. There was no exaggerating when he said that his new neighbor was the most interesting thing about his life at the moment. Everything else was the boring old high school day-to-day drama. And the more Minho pointed out that he was a college freshman that was more than likely out living the complete party life, the more he wanted to see Newt just to see if he could tell if it was true. It was kind of ridiculous. His friends seemed to think so, too, which led to him being forced to spend nearly every moment with them to clear his mind. It wasn’t so bad. They’d been bowling (Brenda won and rubbed it in everyone’s face), visited an arcade (which they played no games at because they decided all the prizes were lame), ate pizza that was way too greasy, drove around in Minho’s car past curfew (which Thomas got in trouble for), and a bunch of other stupid things. Most of the previously mentioned didn’t happen on the same day and for Thomas’ sake, that was absolutely for the best. Out of all his friends he was certainly the most tame. Kind of the stereotypical closed-off nerdy kid, if you wanted to throw a label on it. But luckily his friends stuck together despite the divergence in interests and personalities over the years. He’d never be able to express just how grateful he was for that fact. That was just the kind of people they were. They cared more about who someone genuinely was while everyone else was falling into the trend of only befriending people that fit into their clique.

Though now it was Friday night and no matter how much his friends loved him, there was no way they were going to choose Netflix marathons in Thomas’ bedroom over a rich kids party. He didn’t blame them for wanting to go out. That’s who they were. It might be who Thomas was, too, if his mom weren’t overbearing. Her answer to parties was always “no” and he was the world's worst liar which meant sneaking out wasn’t an option. So that’s how he ended up at his desk with his headphones in, binge-watching The Office for what was probably the thousandth time. _Oh_. Maybe _that’s_ why his friends would rather go to a party.

Five episodes later and his phone was blowing up with drunk texts from Minho. Apparently Teresa had dragged Brenda upstairs to a bedroom and he was “dying of loneliness”. When he’d offered to let him come over, though, he refused. It was kind of a pointless conversation and maybe even a little annoying because here he was, _actually alone_ and Minho was in a house full of people. Thomas sighed, tossing his phone down on the desk and stretching back in his chair. He practically fell out of it when he caught sight of movement in the house beside him. He’d honestly completely forgotten that his blinds were pulled up. Just as he was about to put the blinds back down, he froze. Because the movement was _Newt_. The boy was sat slumped over on his bed, face buried in his hands as his body shook in a way that could only mean he was crying. Any normal person probably would’ve put their blinds down and avoided the situation. No, they definitely would’ve. Thomas never claimed to be a normal person, though. The sight caused an uneasiness to bubble in his stomach and he knew that he couldn’t just ignore this.

“You’re an idiot….” He mumbled to himself as he grabbed a pencil from his desk, undid the locks on his window, then chucked it across the space between their houses and watched as it made contact with Newt’s window before pulling his own window back closed.

Newt tensed and jumped off of his bed with wide eyes, softening slightly when he saw the source of the noise. He wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks with the sleeves of his sweater before raising a hand and hesitantly waving to Thomas. He didn’t seem angry or creeped out, so that was a good thing. Thomas waved in return then held up one finger to signal that he’d be right back. He grabbed a notebook and sharpie from his bookbag, writing in big letters and pressing the paper against the glass.

**ARE YOU OKAY?**

Newt shook his head and Thomas frowned, flipping the page to write again.

**WHAT’S WRONG? :(**

The blonde opened his mouth to speak, then immediately closed it when he realized they couldn’t hear each other. He gestured around his room then shrugged and Thomas realized the other boy didn’t have any way to respond. Shit. Alright, new plan. Stupid plan, but a new plan nonetheless.

**WANT TO COME OVER?**

Newt chuckled softly and furrowed his brows at Thomas, mouthing “How?”

Thomas tossed down his notebook, reopening the window with a hopeful smile. Both of their houses were one-story so it definitely wouldn’t be impossible for him to come in the window if he wanted. And apparently he did want to because next thing Thomas knew, he was helping pull the older boy into his bedroom. If his mom found out, he was dead, no doubt about it.

“You’re ridiculous, Tommy, you know that?” Newt smiled.

“Is caring ridiculous?”

“Do you? Care?”

“I mean, yeah. I don’t just let anyone climb in my window without reasonable cause.”

“But you don’t even know me. Not really.”

“I want to, though.”

Newt studied Thomas’ face for a few moments before sitting down on the edge of his bed with a sigh. “Would’ve been a lot easier if I just went down the hall to talk to Lizzie like she wanted.”

Thomas rolled his desk chair across the room to sit in front of Newt, head tilted slightly to the side in curiosity. “Then why didn’t you?”

“Maybe I want you to know me, too,” He shrugged, staring down at the floor. Like this he seemed so small. Definitely not the side of him that Thomas had gotten to know so far.

“Okay,” Thomas nodded, “well I’m here to listen.”

There was a comfortable silence between them for about two minutes until Newt was speaking again, seemingly having his thoughts collected.

“Before I tell you what happened, I guess you need a bit of background. My dad left when I was eight. Just one day packed his bags and was gone. Nobody knows why to this day. So that’s why it’s just the three of us over there. It’s hard but we’ve made it work. Really, though, that should’ve been an indicator that he was a major douche. But as his child I wanted to _believe_ that he could be a good person. I mean, he never completely abandoned me or Lizzie, so he couldn’t be _that_ bad. He had to love us to some degree, right?” Newt paused and wiped away a few tears, “Anyway, occasionally he’ll take a night to spend with one of us and tonight it was my turn. Things were going great. Then again, they usually do. We’re not best mates or anything, but we get along alright. Though I feel like when I’m around him I’m holding my breath. I’ve always felt that way. I wanted it to be different, Tommy. I really wanted it to be different. So — so I told him what I’ve been hiding. I told him that I’m gay. I don’t know what I expected. Never thought he’d be so horrible about it. The things he said to me…..” Newt trailed off, breaking out into full sobs.

And really, Thomas doesn’t know why he did it — maybe because Newt didn’t feel so much like the intimidating attractive neighbor as much as he did a regular friend right now — but before he could stop himself he was sitting beside the blonde and pulling him into a comforting embrace. Part of him expected Newt to shove him away though instead he clung to him like a broken child, burying his face in his neck.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, Newt. You’re okay. Whatever he said to you was complete bullshit. There is _nothing_ wrong with you for being gay. You do know that, right? He’s the one with something wrong because he can’t get past all that hatred in his heart and see that you’re the same as anybody else. You think, feel, act, and love just like everybody does. He’s an asshole, okay? Don’t let someone like that get you down. You don’t deserve it, I know you don’t,” Thomas assured him quietly, rubbing his hand in gentle circles on his back.

They stayed like that for a bit, just holding each other while Newt allowed himself to calm down and relax. It was fairly surprising for Thomas when he tried to pull back from the embrace after he noticed Newt had stopped crying and instead of letting go, the blonde held  on tighter. He didn’t dare attempt pulling away again.

“You okay?” He asked softly. Newt nodded and he could feel him start to smile against the skin of his neck.

“I’m really _okay_ , Tommy,” He replied with a little laugh." Thomas wondered if Newt could feel how his heart picked up at that.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to talk to me. Sorry for throwing a pencil at your window and giving you a heart attack, though. I was just really worried,” Thomas admitted.

“Thank _you_ for listening and for not judging me. I think it’s really sweet that you were worried enough to throw a pencil at my window,” Newt shrugged, laughing again. He lifted his head and glanced around the room, eyes stopping at the laptop with a grin. “Were you watching The Office? I should’ve known you’d be that type of guy. Go on, bring it over here.”

“My laptop?” Thomas questioned even though it was obvious. He did that a lot.

When Newt nodded, he separated himself from the boy long enough to retrieve the device from his desk. Newt took it from him when he returned, setting it on the pillow before laying on his stomach and gesturing for Thomas to join him. Okay, so that was happening. He was laying squished on his twin bed with his neighbor that he had a crush on. That was fine. Totally fine. Thomas definitely wasn’t absolutely losing his shit on the inside. 

“You gonna keep staring at me or are you gonna press play?” Newt quirked a brow at Thomas, bumping their shoulders together.

“Shit. Um, yeah. Sorry about that,” He blushed before turning his attention to the screen and pressing play.

Despite being called out for staring, Thomas kept finding himself drawn back to Newt. He couldn’t help it. The boy was absolutely glowing. Even though his eyes were puffy from crying and face a little red, he was smiling and laughing at the show on the laptop and looked so incredibly beautiful. This was better than anything he could ever see on a screen, no doubt about it.

The blonde’s smile grew when he realized he was being watched and he rest his head against Thomas’ shoulder with a content sigh. “You’re a mess, Thomas Murphy,” He said quietly.

Somehow time had gotten completely away from them and before they knew it they were four episodes in, struggling to keep themselves awake.

“I should probably go home,” Newt spoke through a yawn, pushing himself into a sitting position.

And Thomas _really_ didn’t want him to go but how do you tell that to somebody you barely know? Instead he nodded and got up off the bed, walking over to his window with a dorky smile. Newt stepped in front of him with a giggle. “I’ve never came in somebody's window before. Or left out their window, so thanks for that.”

“I’m priding myself in providing you the full neighbor experience as probably seen on your nearest television screen,” Thomas joked.

Newt reached up and adjusted Thomas’ glasses, smiling sweetly before clearing his throat and speaking, “You know, if we were on a television screen, I think that you’d be the hero of the story. You really helped me tonight.”

“I’m glad I could help. Though, if I’m the hero, are you my damsel in distress?”

“Oh, not a chance. I’m one hundred percent your sidekick that just happens to have a bit of emotional baggage,” The blonde replied matter-of-factly.

“I can live with that,” He nodded.

“Lovely,” Newt grinned before climbing out of the window. He’d started walking back to his own house when suddenly he stopped, turning on his feet and heading back to his neighbor. “Hey, Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

Standing up on his tiptoes, Newt leaned in the window and pressed a gentle kiss to the younger boy’s cheek. Before Thomas had time to even process it, his neighbor was jogging to his window and climbing back inside his own room. His blinds were closed within seconds and not once did he check to see Thomas’ reaction.

The rest of Thomas’ night was spent laying in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about the softness of Newt’s lips against his cheek and the warmth of his body when they laid side-by-side. Eventually he ended up drifting to sleep and if his neighbor consumed his dreams, too, there was no way he’d admit it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope you enjoyed this chapter!! part of me wants to make chapter 4 in newt's "perspective" so feel free to tweet me (my twitter is @heroicgay) and let me know if you think i should! i also ask for other input on there that potentially impacts the story and post teasers/updates about chapters so yeah just throwing that out there! thank you so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter is written from newt's "perspective" because i wanted to try giving you guys an inside look at his thoughts/feelings! i apologize for how long this update took but i hope you enjoy!

            Newt shuffled tiredly down the hallway, arms wrapped around himself as he made his way into the kitchen. His eyes lit up in delight at the sight of homemade pancakes, fresh fruit, and a mug of coffee all on the table in his spot. Lizzy was standing at the stove with a smile. Not her usual one, though. Something was off.

“Hey Newt,” She greeted quietly, giving him a quick hug before dishing her own pancakes onto her plate and taking a seat at the table.

“Lizzy, what’s wrong?” Newt asked with a furrowed brow as he sat down in his own chair.

The younger girl avoided his gaze, shoveling a forkful of pancakes into her mouth with a sigh. Something was definitely on her mind. Whenever she made breakfast for him, it was always a peace offering for whatever meaningless fight they’d managed to get into which is why this was especially confusing. They hadn’t been fighting at all recently.

“Come on, talk to me,” He pleaded, not even attempting to touch his food.

Lizzy was quiet for a few moments before looking up at Newt with a hurt expression. “Don’t you trust me?” She questioned.

“Of course I trust you. You’re my sister. My best friend. Why would you even ask me that?”

“Because you came home absolutely torn up last night and I offered to talk to you and you told me no. And I came down the hall to check on you and you weren’t there. You were in our the neighbor boys bedroom, talking to him. I didn’t even know that was a thing. It’s like you’re not telling me anything anymore,” Lizzy sighed.

“When I came home I didn’t want to talk to anyone, honest. It’s nothing to do with you. And Thomas….well, I wouldn’t really call that a _thing_. He saw me crying and threw a pencil at my window before asking me to come over. It was hard to resist him, I guess,” Newt shrugged before flashing his younger sister an assuring smile, “I’ve got no reason to lie to you. Seriously. I’m sorry that I made you feel bad, though. You know I love you more than anything.”

The girl let his words hang in the air for a few moments before smiling back at him, this time in her usual manor. It was basically impossible for her to ever stay upset with her brother. “I love you too. Now —Thomas, huh? I need some details about that.”

Newt could feel his cheeks heating up at the mention of Thomas, all the memories of the previous night coming back. He’d been so incredibly sweet when Newt really needed it. Most people would’ve turned the other way and ignored it if they’d seen their neighbor in the midst of a breakdown. And sure, maybe one could say that it only happened because the younger boy had a crush on him but he could tell there was more to it than that. Thomas was the kind of person who cared about others. Genuinely cared. He was selfless, too. There’s no way he wasn’t at risk of getting dragged to hell and back by his mother for inviting someone over without permission, especially when he let him in the window but he did it anyway because he wanted to help. And honestly that was pretty rare to find, or at least it was in Newt’s experience.

“We’ve only really seen each other three times. A couple more if in passing counts. But anyway, I saw him coming home with groceries the first day. He ended up dropping them and turned into a stuttery little mess when he noticed me watching so I felt obligated to go help. Then he brought me some cookies the next day. I saw him coming home through the window. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone run so quickly into their house. Almost like he couldn’t wait to get there. To see _me._ And maybe I’m wrong, Lizzy, but the thought practically thrills me to death. He’s so cute and I can hardly keep him out of my damn head. Then last night when I realized that despite not really even knowing me he cared enough to want to help me through what I was dealing with I — I can’t explain it. There’s just so many things about him. I’ve never felt like this.” Newt was beaming now, a happiness that Lizzy didn’t think she’d ever seen on him before.

“That’s amazing, Newt! You’re a fool if you don’t take him out on a proper date, you know that? And I’ll slap you if you don’t think of something. Seriously,” The girl threatened though she wore a smile on her face. However she one hundred percent would slap him, there was no joke about that.

Newt rolled his eyes at her, “I obviously want to. I just don’t know if I can. I mean, he’s eighteen so that’s not an issue but he’s technically a high school senior which is a completely different world from college. Not that I’ve experienced much of it yet but Gally and Frypan have exposed me to enough that I know.”

“And your point is?”

“My point is I don’t want to get us both involved in something that won’t work out.”

There was no trace of Lizzy’s smile now. No, she was glaring at him like he was the stupidest person in the world. “You idiot! Oh my god, you’re _awful_. The absolute worst. You just said that he’s a senior! He’ll be in college before you know it! The school year is almost over. Also, if he’s a senior that means prom is coming up! He’s _looking_ for someone to date. Nobody wants to go alone. If you don’t snatch him up, somebody else will! Bloody hell, am I the only one with a brain?”

Newt’s eyes widened in disbelief at the force and genuine annoyance behind her words. She was strangely passionate about this whole thing. But honestly, she did have a point. And he knew that if he missed out on this then he’d absolutely regret it down the line. So he pursed his lips and nodded before taking a bite from his breakfast. When his mouth was empty again, he replied. “Insults weren’t necessary, thanks, but you’re right. I’ll think of something, okay?”

Apparently she was content with that response because she was smiling again and the conversation shifted to stuff in her life. It didn’t take long for them to finish their breakfast and when they had, they went their usual separate ways. The boy peeked out his blinds to see if Thomas’ window was opened, frowning in disappointment when it wasn’t. Then again, it was probably for the best if he had to try and figure out a date for the two of them. If Thomas even wanted to go on a date. Which, he was sure he did, but he might not. You never really know.

It’d been about twenty minutes and no ideas had come to him. He didn’t anticipate that it’d be this difficult to come up with a date idea but he supposes it could be blamed on the fact that they barely knew each other. Newt loved music, books, and art. But Tommy? Yeah, he had no idea.

With a sigh, Newt grabbed his phone from his side table, opening up his text messages with Gally to see if maybe he had any ideas. On the surface Gally seemed like a tough guy but in reality he was actually fairly soft, or at least when it came to Frypan. And clearly he was doing something right because whenever they had a date night, Frypan would rave about it the second he saw him.

Just as he pulled up the keyboard to type, a message caught his eye. One he’d forgotten he’d even received.

 **from** : gally

 **to** : newt

party at winston’s place next thursday. you in?

Winston was one of the old jocks from their high school. His family was incredibly wealthy and he was the head of a frat now which made his popularity skyrocket. Plus, to top it all of, he threw the absolute best parties.

 **from:** newt

 **to:** gally

totally in. just one question…..can i bring a date?

Gally’s reply was almost instant.

 **from:** gally

 **to:** newt

HELL YES.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly this chapter was kind of a filler and i got really bad writers block while doing it so i apologize if it wasnt Great but hopefully it wasnt awful either! also let me know how you feel about newt's perspective either here or on my twitter (@heroicgay) because i kind of want to do it again but not permanently bc i do love writing dorky chaotic thomas dying inside bc of newt. also if you have anything you'd like to see for upcoming chapters let me know and if i end up doing anything you suggest then the chapter will be dedicated to you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to sara aka @WICKEDsara on twitter bc she's my personal hype person for this fic and also it's her birthday!

     Thomas hated that school was constantly getting in the way of seeing Newt. Because he really, really couldn’t stop thinking about the soft brush of the boy’s lips against his cheek and he needed some answers. Like, did Newt reciprocate his feelings? There was no way. He was completely out of his league. And after some intense social media searching (Brenda refused to call it stalking), his friends managed to find Newt’s Instagram account, causing Minho to agree that they were definitely on two separate levels. He’d never wanted to hit his best friend so badly in his entire life.

“You’re not suppose to validate my insecurities, ass. You’re supposed to be giving me a vote of confidence,” Thomas scowled.

“Uh, I don’t know what kind of household you grew up in, Thomas but in _my_ family, we’re taught that honesty is the best policy under every circumstance. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t uphold such an important rule?” Minho quipped, a light smile on his lips.

Brenda smacked Minho on the head before turning towards Thomas, gripping both his shoulders and looking into his eyes. “Listen to me. You’re a catch, Thomas Murphy. And clearly Newt thinks so too! I don’t know anybody that would sneak in their neighbors window, cuddle them while watching The Office, then kiss them on the cheek if they didn’t like them.”

Teresa nodded in agreement. “She’s got a point. The Office is terrible. You’ve got to be in some deep feelings for somebody to be willing to tolerate that.”

“He requested we watch it!”

“Because he wanted to spend more time with you and wants to know what your interests are!” She groaned, smacking a hand against her forehead before getting up from Minho’s couch and gesturing for everyone else to get up as well. “Come on, we’re going to take Tom home so he can keep an eye out for his walking wet dream and go _at least_ get his phone number.”

Everyone seemed on-board with that idea because next they knew, they were loading up into Minho’s car before Thomas could even protest to Teresa referring to Newt as his wet dream. Not that it was _technically_ wrong.

The entirety of the car ride was spent with everyone teasing Thomas and completely overwhelming him with dating advice but it all came to a halt when they parked in front of the Murphy house to see their topic of discussion standing in his own driveway, hood of his car propped up as he worked to repair something inside of it. He was wearing a tank top that put his arms on full display and his hair was messier than usual but still in that way that Thomas found absolutely breathtaking.

“Holy shit. We’re sending Thomas right into his deathbed,” Brenda stated.

“Yeah….” Minho sighed before reaching over to the passengers seat and patting Thomas on the shoulder, “Good luck over there, man. Don’t forget how to speak the English language.”

Thomas rolled his eyes at that before hopping out of the car and flipping his friends off, then started walking over to Newt. The boy was grinning in a way that could only mean he _knew_ he was being watched by a car full of people and was simply waiting to be approached. And even though Thomas had walked over to him, now standing directly at his side, he couldn’t get a single world to come out of his mouth. Great. So much for not forgetting the English language. He hoped that maybe he would be over that by now considering the other night but apparently not. Newt seemed to pick up on it because he was amazing like that and straightened himself up, wiping his hands on a cloth.

“Been wondering when I was gonna see my Tommy again,” He beamed.

 _His Tommy_. That sent shivers up Thomas’ spine.

“Really? That’s….I didn’t think you’d be wondering about me at all. I’m glad, though. I—” Thomas cut himself off, staring at the ground. God, he was going to absolutely embarrass himself.

His eyes widened when Newt reached over and grabbed both of his hands, intertwining their fingers. When he looked up, the older male had a soft yet encouraging smile.

“Talk, it’s okay. What were you gonna say?”

If it weren’t for the fact that Newt was holding onto him, he was certain he’d collapse to the pavement. This was way too good to his life. All those internet conspiracy theories about living in a warped timeline or whatever definitely had to be true and in about two seconds some scientist would bring him back to his reality. Right? Nope. Apparently not, because he’d blinked at least twenty times by now and this was still happening.

Thomas blushed softly, admitting, “I was just going to say that I missed you. Is that weird?”

Newt shook his head and stifled a laugh. “It’s not weird. Nothing about you is weird. We’ve been over that, haven’t we? It’s completely normal to miss someone, Tommy. I missed you too. I like you and I like having you hang around.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. You’re not really that oblivious, are you? I _kissed_ you.”

“On the cheek,” Thomas pointed out.

“What, you want me to kiss you on the lips?”

Everything in Thomas froze. Because holy shit, yes. Yes a thousand times. He wanted that so badly. The thought of it had his heart threatening to leap out his chest. Newt would one hundred percent be the death of him.

When he started nodding frantically, the blonde laughed softly and whispered an ‘Okay’ before releasing Thomas’ hands and cupping his face instead. Thomas could feel himself shaking and he kind of hated himself for it. Their noses brushed together, sending butterflies through his stomach. This was it. They were going to—

“No,” Newt whispered and you could _hear_ the smirk in his voice as he pulled back, leaning against his car.

Thomas’ eyes snapped open and he made sure his glasses were sitting perfectly on his face so he could see the blonde clearly. Oh yeah, Newt was smirking, obviously very proud of the little stunt he’d just pulled. And really, he wanted to be mad but the fact that he’d gotten to be the close the Newt was something to be grateful for. That didn’t mean it wasn’t disappointing, though. Which he was sure was written all over his face.

“Why not?” He questioned lamely with a frown.

“Because I’d like to take you on a date, if that’s alright?” Newt’s smirk was gone now, his lips pursed, anticipating a response.

“Wait, what? Yes. Hell yes. Yes, yes please,” Thomas replied enthusiastically, “When? Where?”

There it was — that award winning Newt smile that would probably never _not_ take his breath away.

“It’s kind of lame, honestly, but one of my old mates Winston is hosting a party on Thursday. I’m supposed to be going with my friends Gally and Frypan but they said that you could tag along. And since it’ll be a date of sorts they’ll probably keep their distance, so you won’t be overwh—what? What’s wrong? You’ve got this look on your face. Really strange one. **_Shit_**. Have you never been to a party, Tommy?”

Never been? He wasn’t even allowed. But that’d be the embarrassing to share. And quite frankly, he wanted to burst out of this bubble he’d been locked in for so long. If he had the guts to sneak a boy into his window, surely he could go with that same boy to a party. Besides, he didn’t want to be the person who ruins things for everyone else. His friends would never admit it but he kind of already did that for them enough as it was.

“Not really, no. I don’t get invited that often,” He lied with a shrug, surprising himself with how collected he actually was, “But I want to go with you. It sounds like a good time.”

“You’re sure?” Newt asked hesitantly.

“I’m completely sure, I promise. I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s with you. And do I look like I would skip out on an opportunity to spend time with you? I know that you know I wouldn’t because you can read me like an open book, Newt.”

Newt laughed at that, nodding, “It’s true, I can. You don’t make it hard at all.”

“It's a curse. Though in this case maybe a blessing, too? Because otherwise this might not be happening.”

“But it is happening, so that’s a good thing.”

“Yeah. One question, though. I’m about a ninety percent sure I’ll have to sneak out my window to attend said party, so how will I know you’re ready for me? Will you send a smoke signal?” Thomas joked which made Newt roll his eyes and pull his phone out of his pocket.

“I think a text would be more convenient,” Newt smirked as the brunette accepted the device and began imputing his contact information. Of course he made multiple typos and kept redoing it. Finally after he’d got it correctly filled in (and reread it five times just to be certain), Thomas handed back the phone with an excited grin.

Newt read over the contact with a smile of his own before sighing and shoving his phone back in his pocket. “As much as I’d love to keep hanging out, I really do have to get this car fixed otherwise we won’t be going anywhere on Thursday and I think having you here would be distracting.”

Part of Thomas wanted to make a big deal over the fact that Newt had basically just admitted that he was distracting for him but the other part of him was so determined to make this date work out that he didn’t want to chance the car not getting repaired.

“Okay, yeah, definitely don’t wanna distract you. But feel free to text me whenever. You know, since you have my number now and all that….” Thomas trailed off. Damn. Of course he had to be awkward at the last second.

“We’ll see,” Newt replied simply, then went back to working at the the car.

Leave it to him to be all difficult and and mysterious about something so simple. With a sigh the younger boy went over into his house and plopped down on the sofa in the living room. Definitely _not_ because he could perfectly see Newt in his driveway. Nope, not at all. Except that was the exact reason. And he wasn’t subtle about it. Lucky for him, though, the blonde was completely focused on his task and didn’t notice.

The second he looked away, his phone buzzed.

 **from:** unknown

 **to:** thomas

fyi, staring at me from ur front window is still distracting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aH i'm so sorry that this update took so long but chapter 6 is finally here and i rly hope you guys enjoy!!

    The wait until Thursday was easily the most agonizing wait of Thomas’ entire life. Seriously, there was no exaggerating about that. Though the text conversations he’d been having with Newt did make it a bit more bearable. Honestly it was a lot easier to talk to him from behind a screen and he felt that it’d definitely helped them to grow more comfortable with one another. At least he assumed Newt was comfortable. Surely you don’t send morning bedhead selfies to someone you _aren’t_ comfortable with.

He thought about being honest with his mother and telling her everything regarding Newt and the party he’d be attending but ultimately decided against it. Not that anything good would come from sneaking out if he got caught, however he also wasn’t sure anything good would come from telling her the truth, so either way it was a losing game. At least with Newt by his side he’d feel somewhat like he was winning.

So now he was sifting through his closet to find an outfit suitable enough to wear to a party that would still impress his date. Functionally seductive, as Brenda called it. Though honestly that was singlehandedly the worst thing he’d ever heard come out of anyone’s mouth.

Eventually Thomas gave up and settled on some jeans and a black striped shirt paired with black converse. Timing was perfect because a few minutes later, his phone was buzzing in his pocket.

 **from:** newt

 **to:** thomas

alright rebel man, meet me in my driveway.  

The brunette beamed at his phone before slowly unlatching the locks on his window, sliding it open cautiously. His heart felt like it had floated up into his throat and his insides were shaking. That was a weird way to describe it but he really didn’t know how else to. Despite how he felt, he managed to make it out of the window rather gracefully which had him smiling proudly at himself. Yeah, he was lame. He had no idea why Newt wanted anything to do with him however there was no way he’d ever complain about that.

Newt was dramatically peeking out from behind a bush in his yard, waving the boy over with a silent laugh. There was really no reason for him to be sneaking around like Thomas was but it was pretty adorable of him to play along.

As if on instinct, the second Newt fully came into view, Thomas gave him a once-over. He’s pretty sure his jaw was practically laying on the concrete because the blonde was in front of him wearing a black crop top that rest right above his belly button and it was like a dream come true. Not that Thomas had dreamt of Newt in crop tops, but he definitely would be after this.

“Wow,” was all he managed to say.

“That good, huh?” Newt laughed, twirling his car keys around his finger with an amused expression before nodding towards the vehicle. “Come on, pretty boy. We’ve got places to be.”

Thomas walked around to the passenger side of the car and got in, making sure he got the buckle properly fastened before giving a thumbs up to the older boy. Newt started the car with a grin and when he’d gotten them pulled out of the driveway he let one of his hands fall from the steering wheel to Thomas’ thigh. Maybe he should’ve told his mom about this party after all because suddenly there was a very high risk of his death.

Even though they’d been texting regularly, they somehow managed to find new things in their week to talk about for the entire car ride. Which wasn’t exactly a long drive considering they were already pulling into a parking space against the curb but it was still pleasant. Once the car was in park, Newt gave Thomas’ thigh a gentle squeeze before winking at him and getting out of the vehicle.

The house was filled with sweaty bodies, the scent of alcohol and possibly marijuana all around them. Not to mention that the music was so loud Thomas could hardly hear himself think. It was a bit overwhelming and he found himself practically clinging to Newt’s arm.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’ll be okay,” Newt said softly into his ear before beginning to lead him through the crowd.

“Newt!” a boy with a buzz cut called out over the music, waving to the two of them. He would honestly be super intimidating if he weren’t smiling so big. Thomas glanced over to Newt’s face, noticing that he was smiling just the same.

“Gally!” Newt called back, gesturing for the younger boy to follow him over as he walked towards his friend.

“Good to see you, mate. Where’s Fry?”

“He’ll be right back, he went to get us some more drinks. Is this your new _friend_?” Gally said with a bit of a suggestive tone.

The blonde rolled his eyes, “Don’t say it like that. This is Tommy. Tommy, this is Gally.”

“Uh, you can call me Thomas,” He corrected as he shook the male’s hand.

Newt was staring at him with a curious gaze. “Thought you liked being called Tommy?”

Thomas pursed his lips, cheeks turning a subtle pink. “I do,” was all he said in response.

Apparently Newt got the hint because his whole demeanor softened and he pulled the boy into his side, pressing a kiss to his temple. “You’re so cute,” He laughed quietly.

“You guys are being unfairly adorable right now,” a new voice commented.

Newt scoffed, “That better not be a complaint. I’ve been dealing with you and Gally’s nonsense for far too long. Tommy, this is Frypan.”

“Frypan? That’s, uh, I like it,” Thomas smiled politely, hoping he wasn’t coming off as judgmental.

Frypan laughed and shook his head, taking a sip from his drink before replying. “My real name is Siggy. I’ve just gone by Frypan for a really long time so it’s kind of stuck,” he shrugged.

“These two were the first friends I made when I moved here years ago. They love me so much that they decided to follow me to college,” Newt explained with a joking tone.

“And you love us so much that you decided to drag your new boyfriend to come meet us,” Gally teased back.

Thomas was about to speak up and correct them because he definitely _wasn’t_ Newt’s boyfriend, but when he looked over at Newt, he was shrugging at his friends and smiling. So....that was happening. Alright. Well, he _knew_ they weren’t boyfriends because this was only their first date. But this was definitely something. Which, he supposes he also already knew, but somehow the clarification made it more real.

“So what’s on your party agenda?” Frypan asked.

“Well, Tommy here has never been to a party before so I suppose I’ll just show him the ropes. Not that there are many ropes to show, unless you’re feeling experimental.”

“Is it gonna be anything like your first party?” Gally asked with a mischievous smirk. Newt paled at that, eyes going wide at what must’ve been an unpleasant memory.

“No, absolutely not,” He stated quickly, clearly certain that whatever had happened at his first party wouldn't be happening tonight.

“What happened at your first party?” Thomas curiously questioned.

Gally opened his mouth to answer but before he could, Newt was leaping forward and covering his mouth, glaring at the male. They must’ve reached some sort of silent understanding because after a few moments he returned to Thomas’ side with a polite smilel. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Oh, um, okay. Sorry for asking.”

“No worries,” He shrugged, turning back to his friends, “I think I’ll let you guys go have your fun, yeah? Get your mind on something else so you don’t end up terrorizing poor Tommy.”

And with that they said their goodbyes and parted ways, both pairs getting lost in the crowd. Newt had his arm wrapped around Thomas’ waist and was pointing out the various rooms throughout the main area of the home in case they somehow ended up separated throughout the night. However he ended up stopping mid-sentence, an excited expression on his features.

“We’ve officially got our first order of business — you’re going to dance with me, mainly because I absolutely love this song.”

“I — what? Really? Me? Dance with you?” Thomas asked nervously.

“Um, yeah? That kind of happens at parties. You can dance, can’t you?” Newt chuckled.  

“Of course I can, yeah.” He couldn’t.

“Excellent. Come on.”

Thomas allowed himself to be pulled to a space in the room that wasn’t as crowded as the rest, eyes flicking around to all the other bodies moving to the beat, hoping that maybe it’d give him some idea on what he could do that wouldn’t make him look like a fish out of water. In theory the moves appeared simple enough but he knew he lacked the coordination and rhythym to properly execute them. But Newt was expecting _something._ That’s when their eyes met again. And the older boys expression wasn’t expectant at all, just encouraging. So he began to attempt moving to the the blaring music, trying not to let himself feel so awkward. It was pretty easy to tell that Newt was trying to ignore just how bad he was. He was trying to dance along with Thomas, but his movements were smooth and in time with the music. His own? Not so much. Eventually Newt gave up the act and stopped dancing, gesturing for Thomas to do the same.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you dance like a…..I don’t know. It’s adorable and I love it, but I’m also not letting you humiliate yourself in the middle of a party, so,” He said with a teasing smile.

“You’re not hurting my feelings by being honest. I, uh, I was lying when I said I could dance,” Thomas confessed, “but I really wanted it to be true. I guess because I want to have fun with you and impress you.”

Newt considered that for a few moments before nodding and taking a step closer to the brunette. He grabbed Thomas’ hands and positioned them on his hips, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“Let’s try it like this, yeah? It’s usually easiest. Just….single out the beats with your ears. Focus on what you hear and translate it into your movements,” Newt instructed.

“Okay, yeah,” Thomas nodded quickly, trying to do exactly to what he’d been told. For some reason it was a _lot_ easier said than done.

Newt chuckled amusedly, shaking his head at the younger boy. “You’re thinking about it too much. It’s suppose to be a kind of natural flow.”

“I don’t have natural flow. Dancing is a lot of pressure,” Thomas frowned.

“Aw, hey, don’t be down on yourself over it. You’re not completely hopeless yet. I actually have an idea.”

“An idea?”

“Yeah. Do you trust me?” Newt asked, pursing his lips together. If you really thought about it, the question held a lot of weight. But the point right now was to _not_ think.

“I trust you,” Thomas confirmed.

“Okay. Close your eyes.”

Thomas followed Newt’s instructions, swallowing thickly when their bodies pressed completely together. Not a single space was between them and he could feel Newt’s hips moving in beat against his own. Essentially their bodies were grinding and rolling together. He didn’t understand why he needed to close his eyes for that. However it became clear fairly quickly because next thing he knew, a pair of lips were hesitantly brushing against his. **Holy shit**. _Shit shit shit._

He pressed his fingers into the exposed skin of Newt’s lower back, holding him tight as he connected their lips fully, probably with a bit too much force due to excitement and lack of experience. But the kiss itself was deep and slow, and Thomas couldn’t help but notice how soft Newt’s lips were or the fact that he tasted like honey. The kiss lasted until they absolutely had no choice but to pull back for some air.

“You’re dancing on time now,” Newt observed breathlessly, grinning at Thomas.

“That was my first kiss,” Thomas blurted out.

Newt’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “You’ve never had anyone kiss you before?”

Thomas sighed and shook his head. “Never. I wanted to plenty of times but something either got in the way or they just didn’t want to. Never done _other things,_ either _.”_ Might as well be completely honest.

“That’s honestly really hard to believe. You’re a catch, Tommy.”

“You’re probably the only one who thinks that.”

“Then I’m the only one with taste. You may as well not attempt fighting me on this because I refuse to allow you to think badly of yourself. You’re too special for that.”

Thomas could honestly melt. Newt was better than anything he deserved.

“If you’re gonna say stuff like that to me then I might need a few drinks in my system so I don’t turn into an awkward mess,” Thomas laughed.

Newt cupped Thomas’ cheeks and quickly pecked his lips again before taking his hands. “Alright, let’s get you a drink then.”

The younger boy followed the other into the kitchen, leaning against a counter as a drink was fixed for him, a smile on his lips. So far the partying life wasn’t treating him terribly. Though honestly that was completely because of the fact that he’d just gotten his first kiss from an insanely attractive college boy that happens to be his neighbor _and_ crush. He wasn’t even completely convinced that this wasn’t a dream.

Despite how the alcohol burned his throat and kind of tasted like really bad cough medicine, Thomas found that one drink turned into….four drinks? Honestly, he’d lost count. Everything was kind of  hazy and the room was _definitely_ spinning. Or maybe that was his imagination. Either way, there was no denying that he was drunk. Apparently he was the clingy kind of drunk because every time Newt tried to get up and get him some water to sober him up, he pulled the blonde into his lap and held him so tightly he could barely move.

“Tommy, come on, let me go,” Newt laughed, trying to pry the boys arms apart.

“Mm, no. No way. You’re staying right here with me,” Thomas mumbled as he buried his face in the blonde’s neck.

“When you wake up tomorrow feeling like death, you’ll regret this.”

“I won’t feel like death. I’m probably immune to hangovers.”

“Why would you be immune to hangovers?”

“Because I deserve to be.”

Newt laughed and turned his head to the side, kissing Thomas’ hair. “It doesn’t work like that, dork. Let me go, I’m getting you some water.”

Thomas looked up at the blonde with a pout before sighing and releasing him.

“I’ll be right back. Just stay here, okay?” Newt instructed softly, earning a thumbs up from the younger boy. However not even a minute later he was standing up and maneuvering through the crowd in an attempt to get the kitchen, instead ending up in what appeared to be a game room of some kind. Everyone was crowded around a makeshift stage as a drunken party goer sang karaoke to a Britney Spears song. And, of course when she was done and a boy took the stage asking for a volunteer to go next, Thomas was first in line to take the stage.

“Alright man, pick a song,” The boy said as he presented a menu of all the songs available to sing. Thomas observed it for a few moments before selecting one.

Everyone broke out into cheers when ‘As Long As You Love Me’ by Justin Bieber began blasting through the speakers. There was no way he could be doing this if he was sober. All of his general awkwardness was gone in his intoxicated state, though, so he picked up one of the microphones and began singing along to the song. He actually wasn’t terrible at singing normally but being drunk made it offkey and offbeat. Nobody seemed to care though if them clapping and cheering was any indication.

He was mid-lyric when he heard his name being shouted from the crowd. Newt was standing in front of the stage, eyes wide with a glass over water in hand.

“Get down! Come here!” He yelled.

Thomas frowned at him and shook his head before gesturing for the blonde to come and join him on the stage as he continued to sing and dance around like a complete spazz.

“You’re embarrassing yourself! Come on!” Newt tried again. Again, Thomas shook his head.

With an irritated sigh, the blonde set his glass on the edge of the stage and stepped up onto it in an attempt to get the younger boy down that way instead. Except a microphone was now being handed to him by the person running the karaoke machine, clearly thinking that Newt was joining in on the song. All eyes were expectantly watching him now, including Thomas’. There was really no way out of this without looking like he was a total buzzkill. So he swallowed his pride and began hesitantly dancing and singing along. The energy Thomas had was infectious, though, and within moments he was performing just as passionately as the other male.

People were definitely recording but neither of them seemed to mind, completely focused on each other. They were dancing wildly around each other and practically screaming the lyrics with bright smiles on their faces. Thomas nearly fell off the stage with laughter when Newt broke out into Big Sean’s rap, executing it flawlessly.

When the song came to a close, the boys fell into a hug as the crowd around them jokingly cheered for an encore. Or at least they hoped it was joking because no way were they repeating that.

“Alcohol makes you go out of your bloody mind, Tommy,” Newt laughed, making a surprised sound when Thomas pressed their lips together instead of replying.

“You--you looked really good doing all of that,” Thomas mumbled as he pulled back.

“I looked really good singing Justin Bieber?” He asked in amusement.

“Yes! You’re just, like, really hot. I don’t know. I could kiss you for the rest of my life. Maybe other things, too. You know how earlier I said I had no experience with anything? Yeah. Well…maybe you could show me the ropes of all this, too. You know. Sexy stuff,” The brunette rambled. Newt blinked at him before laughing again, pulling back and taking his hand.

“You’re drunk as hell. Let’s get you home, yeah?”

And he wanted to argue it but really there was no way that he possibly could. He thinks that he must’ve fallen asleep in the car because the next thing he knew, they were sitting in Newt’s driveway and he was being unbuckled from the seatbelt.

“Are you an angel?” Thomas asked groggily.

Newt rolled his eyes. “No, and you’re not dead, if that’s where you were headed next. We’re at my house. And we’ve got a problem, I think.”

That woke Thomas up a bit. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure you’re stable enough to climb back into your window, at least not without making a ton of noise and getting slaughtered by your mom. So….if you want, you can come into my house,” Newt offered with pursed lips. He should’ve expected the way Thomas enthusiastically nodded his head in response. Why on Earth would he say ‘no’ to an opportunity to spend the night with his crush? Besides that, it’d almost be life threatening if his mom found out he was out tonight.

Newt smiled softly at Thomas and kissed his forehead before helping to lift the boy out of the car. Thomas was practically deadweight so Newt had to basically hold him up as he unlocked his house and led him instead to his bedroom.

“I’m going to get you something to sleep in. Can you undress yourself?”

“You could at least take me to dinner first,” Thomas joked.

“Shut up,” Newt laughed, sorting through his dressed and pulling out a pair of black sweatpants and a maroon sweater. The brunette stumbled around as he removed his clothing, causing the other male to intervene and help him undress the rest of the way. He gently pushed him down to sit on the mattress and held up a finger to signal that he’d be right back before leaving the room.

When Newt returned, he was changed into his own pajamas and holding a glass of water. He handed it to Thomas and sat beside him on the edge of the mattress, rubbing circles on his back as the boy drank the water.

“Thank you for being so nice to me. I know I’ve been acting really stupid,” Thomas frowned.

“Stupid? Tommy, sweetheart, you’re _drunk_. The way you’ve been acting is almost completely the standard. And I had a lot of fun with you tonight, okay? Don’t you dare let yourself think any different. You’re probably the best person I’ve ever been to a party with and I really enjoy your company.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You’re right. You deserve more,” Newt said simply before setting Thomas’ cup on the side table and laying back on the bed, arms open. “Now come lay down, sleepyhead. You need rest.”

Thomas quickly obliged, taking his glasses off and setting them next to the cup before laying down with his head on Newt’s chest and an arm draped over his stomach. Newt sighed contently and wrapped his arms securely around the boy.

“Goodnight, Newt,” Thomas whispered.

“Goodnight, Tommy,” He replied.

It wasn’t too long after that when they drifted into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i didn't proofread this chapter so hopefully its good but anyway i'm so so sorry for the wait! life got crazy but i promise updates will be more frequent again.   
> if you want you can follow my twitter (@heroicgay) bc i usually post previews of chapters as i write them and give alerts on when i'll post and stuff. thank you guys so much for reading! ily   
> (also shoutout to love simon for being the inspo behind the karaoke scene lmao)


	7. Chapter 7

    Thomas slowly blinked open his eyes, groaning at the way his head was pounding. Where the hell was he and why did he feel like he’d been run over by a truck? _Oh._ Yeah. He was in Newt’s room. Newt’s bed, to be exact. He was honestly surprised by how much of the previous night he remembered. A few things were fuzzy around the edges but it was mostly clear. Part of him was embarrassed by everything he’d done although remembering that Newt had told him it was the most fun he’d had with anyone in a party definitely helped with that. Plus they kissed, so that kind of overshadowed everything else. Now that he knew how Newt’s lips tasted and felt, he never wanted to forget it. That was a tacky way to put it but all things tacky felt justifiable when it came to Newt.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to stay here with the blonde, reality was beginning to set back in. A glance at the digital clock on Newt’s nightstand had told him it was eight in the morning, meaning his mother wouldn’t be awake yet. If there was any perfect time for him to sneak back in his window then it would be now. He sighed to himself and sat up, observing the sleeping blonde with a fond smile. He was so incredibly beautiful. How had Thomas managed to get this lucky? Luck wasn’t something he had. Ever.

“Newt, wake up, I gotta go,” Thomas said softly as he gently shook the boy’s shoulder.

Newt muttered something incoherent and did grabby hands at the brunette. The only thing Thomas could make out was the word “back”.

Thomas giggled and grabbed his glasses from the side table, sliding them onto his face before leaning down and kissing Newt’s cheek.

“Unfortunately, no ‘back’. I’ve gotta sneak into my house before my mom wakes up otherwise I’m toast. And part of me really thinks that you don’t want that. At least I hope.”

Newt opened his eyes at that, pushing his bottom lip out in the most adorable pout. He moved into a sitting position and rest his chin on Thomas’ shoulder. “No, I’d really prefer you not be toast, so you can go. Even though I wish you didn’t have to.”

“I wish I didn’t have to, either,” Thomas confessed.

The older boy wrapped his arms around the other and held him tightly, brushing his nose against his cheek. “Kiss me,” He requested and of course Thomas complied. It was just as slow and sweet as the previous night and still completely overwhelming in every single way.

After a few moments Thomas broke away from Newt with a content hum. “I really like you,” He whispered.

“I really like you too,” Newt whispered back, the expression on his face nothing but pure adoration.

Life was pretty much perfect for Thomas right now, no doubt about it.

“Alright, but really now, I’ve gotta go. Where are my clothes?” The boy frowned as he reluctantly shifted away from the other male and got up from the bed. Newt followed him and gestured towards the laundry hamper in the corner of the room.

“They reek of alcohol so taking them home probably isn’t in your best interest. I’ll clean them and get them back to you. Until then you can wear what you’ve got on. I think I’ve officially developed a _thing_ for you in my clothes,” Newt smirked as his eyes scanned over Thomas’ body. Thomas was still highly convinced that death was reaching out for him.

“I—okay. I have no problem with that whatsoever,” Thomas laughed.

He walked over to Newt’s window and pulled up the blinds before lifting it open. Then his eyes widened and he froze. Yeah, he was definitely going to die but it had nothing to do with how hot Newt was. No, he was going to die at the hands of his mother. Because he _knows_ he left the window half open last night in order to be able to let himself back in when he came home. And now? Now it was down and locked. There was no way for him to know when she’d done that, either, so it was impossible for him to think up a suitable excuse. He was screwed.

“Tommy….” Newt started, hesitation clear in his voice as he touched the boy’s shoulder.

“Don’t,” Thomas replied flatly as he began climbing out the window anyway.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—“

“Stop. It was my decision, okay? I’m not mad at you. Being with you was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like that before and I’m not gonna let you apologize for it. I just gotta go deal with this. I’ll text you, I promise.”

With that he was gone, cutting across the grass to get to his front door. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his key only to remember that the clothes on his body weren’t his own and his key was in Newt’s house. This really couldn’t get any worse. Thomas sighed dejectedly and rang the bell, anxiously waiting for a response. There was nothing but pure humiliation on his face when his mother opened the door. She was absolutely fuming. He yelped in surprise when she tightly gripped his wrist, yanking him in the door and slamming it shut.

“Where the hell have you been?!” The woman yelled, “I’ve been waiting eleven hours! _Eleven hours!_ I came in your room at nine last night to ask if you wanted to watch a movie with me because I couldn’t sleep, only to find your damn window open and you nowhere! And apparently you’ve forgotten how to use a cellphone because you haven’t been answering that, either! So, I’ll ask you again, Thomas. Where the _hell_ have you been?”

Thomas pursed his lips together and blinked away tears that were already beginning to form in his eyes. “I—I went out. I’m sorry, I know I should’ve asked but you would’ve said no.”

“You’ve got a curfew! Not to mention school and—“

“—It’s a teacher workday.”

“I don’t care! You think that _matters_?! You were out all night without permission and I didn’t know if you were dead or alive!”

“Mom, come on, you’re overreacting. I was just out with friends and lost track of time. It’s not a big deal,” Thomas sighed, walking past her and hoping that she would drop the topic.

“Overreacting? Thomas, you snuck out your **window**!”

Great, so she wasn’t dropping it. Thomas himself was getting kind of irritated at this point. He turned around with his arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe if you weren’t so uptight all of the time I wouldn’t feel like I have to do things like that.”

She was glaring at him now, hands on her hips in that way all angry mothers did. “So this is my fault?! You’re — you’re not wearing your clothes. Where did you get those? I never bought you those.”

Yep, this was it. This was the moment he was going to die. Rest in peace to Thomas Murphy.

“My friend loaned me them,” He replied simply.

“What friend? And why would you need new clothes?”

“His name’s Newt. I — I spent the night with him, okay? Wait, shit, that sounds really bad. It wasn’t like _that_. Not that it’s your business if it was.”

“Not my business?! You’re my **son**!”

“Yeah, and I’m eighteen. You don’t need to treat me like a toddler.”

“Then stop acting like one! You’re irresponsible and I clearly can’t trust you to not go make stupid ass decisions like sleeping around with boys!”

Thomas froze at that, arms falling to his sides. “Why did you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

“What?” Ms. Murphy furrowed her brows together in confusion.

“‘Stupid ass decisions like sleeping around with boys’? Why is sleeping with boys a bad thing? I thought you were okay with me being bi.”

“I—If that’s who you are, Thomas, it’s not a bad thing. But it’s not necessarily a _smart_ thing. There’s a lot to think about.”

“A lot to think about? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I just want you to be safe. And I don’t think sneaking out to go screw around with one of your classmates is safe. You’re clearly not thinking it through if I have to sit here and explain it to you.”

“Wow. Really? That’s your play? You’re being ridiculous. I _do_ think things through. I’m not an idiot. I know sneaking out is bad or whatever, but maybe I don’t want to be your goodie-two-shoes son anymore. You keep me in a box. Because of you I’m the weird kid at school who never gets invited to do anything because everyone assumes that mommy dearest will say no. And we weren’t screwing around. We went on a date. So stop freaking out.”

“A date, right. Then why wouldn’t you ask me?”

“Because it was a party and I knew you would say no.”

“You went to a _party_?!”

Thomas scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning around to continue walking away from her. “I can’t deal with you. There’s clearly no talking to you about this. I’m sorry that I worried you but I’m not going to let you make me feel bad about having an amazing night.”

“No, no, this is _not_ okay, Thomas. And I’m not going to let you think it is. I want your phone and I want to give this Newt kids parents a call and let them know what a bad influence he is,” She said as she shook her head and grabbed his arm to stop him from moving further down the hall.

The boy pulled his arm roughly from her grip, jaw clenching as his eyes narrowed in anger. “You’re _not g_ etting my phone. And Newt’s mom wouldn’t give a fuck because he’s twenty, in college, and she respects that he’s living his own life and capable of making his own decisions. It’s not either of our faults that you’re overbearing and unable of doing the same.”

You could practically see her anger growing with the knowledge she’d just been given. Thomas didn’t care, though. She could think whatever she wanted. He’d been waiting so long for someone like Newt to come along and he refused to let his mother of all people ruin it for him.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but you are _not_ the child I raised,” The woman spat.

And really that hurt almost more than anything else because he wasn’t any different than the person he’d always been. He’d made one bad decision, that was it. Though it was kind of difficult to view it as a bad decision when the night had ended up being so amazing. Either way, he was still himself. Maybe even more of himself. Everything he’d done with Newt was things that he’d wanted to do for a long time but was held back from because of his mother. He respected her too much to live his life the way he wanted but that was going to change. In a way, it already was.

Ms. Murphy’s expression softened as tears rolled down Thomas’ cheeks and she reached out to grab him but he stepped out of her reach while shaking his head.

“Screw you,” Thomas replied with a shaky voice before finishing the short distance into his bedroom, slamming and locking the door.

Part of him considered calling Newt but on the same hand he definitely didn’t want the boy feeling any guilt about the situation when it wasn’t really his fault. And if their goodbye was any indication, he definitely would feel guilt. So instead he settled for laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, holding back tears until his leftover exhaustion took over and he fell asleep once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is .... so angsty and dramatic wow. poor thomas is just trying to live his best life pls forgive him mom.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend katie who helped give me some inspiration/ideas for this chapter!

    Thomas sat up on his bed and looked at the clock on his side table, huffing out a sigh. It wasn’t even noon yet. Part of him hoped he’d slept the whole day just to avoid all the tension that would be in the air due to the disagreement with his mom, but apparently the heavens didn’t love him enough for that. Instead he was going to be forced to face his problems which, admittedly, was never a strong point for him. He hated confrontation and due to his stubbornness, he often struggled to be the first one to apologize after a fight. Though this time it felt pretty justified to not want to apologize first. She really didn’t have to react the way she did. Honestly, it kind of encouraged him to sneak out even more because clearly she wasn’t going to loosen up her grip on him anytime soon.

Although the more that he thought about it, the rebellious energy died down and was replaced with a more solemn mood. He’d never fought with his mother like that before. It left a lot of questions. Was she okay with his sexuality? Did she mean what she’d said when she told him he wasn’t the child she’d raised? He wasn’t about to go ask. Maybe he never would. It might kill him to know the answer. They’d always been so close. If it were his sexuality that ripped them apart….yeah, it would destroy him. Even thinking about it made him feel nauseous.

The sound of something clacking against his window had him practically jumping out of his skin. He got up and pulled up the blinds, relaxing when he realized what it was. Smiling softly at him across the way was Newt. He was holding his phone in his hand and pointing at it.

_What?_ , Thomas mouthed.

_Check your phone_ , Newt mouthed back.

Oh. Right. What the hell else could he have meant? Thomas wanted to slap himself. Instead, of course, he retrieved his phone and checked his messages.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

have you been thrown in the toaster yet?

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

you could say that

He looked up from his phone to see the blonde frowning over at him. Another text came through.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

was it bad?

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

define bad. she lectured me and told me i’m not the kid she raised anymore. oh and i told her “screw you”. so…..yeah. define bad.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

i’d say that’s a pretty solid definition of bad. i’m sorry, tommy. i never meant to cause you any trouble. hope you know that.

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

you didn’t cause me trouble, newt. it was my decision to sneak out. and for the record i don’t regret it. i’ve never felt the kind of happiness and freedom that i did with you.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

you’re not just saying that, are you?

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

can confirm that i’m not just saying that

Newt was attempting to hide his face now but Thomas could see just how wide he was smiling. It made his heart swell up in that unfamiliar way that Newt always caused.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

careful, tommy. you keep up with cute things like that and you might make me fall in love with you.

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

maybe that’s the plan

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

only maybe?

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

more than a maybe but i don’t wanna be creepy

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

it’s not creepy it’s really adorable

Thomas’ cheeks turned a shade of pink as he made eye contact with Newt. It wasn’t fair that the blonde was able to make him feel this way.

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

i’ll probably fall in love with you first though

Newt was laughing.

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

maybe :)

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

i really wanna see you

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

you’re looking right at me idiot

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

i really wanna kiss you

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

okay yeah you’re not doing that. but you could be. actually, you could be having a really amazing day with me right now if you wanted…..

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

are you trying to get me to sneak out my window again?

**to: thomas**

**from: newt**

only if you’re okay with the risk. i don’t want you to be swearing my name if your mum kills you.

**to: newt**

**from: thomas**

you’re worth the risk. let me get dressed.

Thomas considered leaving the blinds up and letting Newt watch him change for the sake of being a tease but he knew he wasn’t confident or graceful enough for that, so instead he signaled that he’d be right back before pulling the blinds down. He doesn’t think he’d ever changed his clothes so fast in his entire life. And if he ended up falling over while putting on his pants, nobody ever had to know about it.

When he was finished, he opened the window completely and instantly climbed out of it to meet Newt who was leaned against this side of his own house.

“Hi,” Thomas greeted quietly.

Instead of replying, Newt took both of his hands in his own and pulled their bodies together, sealing their lips in a sweet and gentle kiss.

“How’s that?” He asked in a whisper, foreheads pressed together and noses brushing.

“Could be better,” The brunette teased.

Newt scoffed and kissed him again. This time it was deeper yet somehow maintaining that same gentleness. It was a wonder his knees didn’t give out every time their lips touched. Obviously he’d never kissed anyone else before and maybe he was a bit biased, but he was positive that nobody could do it better than Newt. Part of him really didn’t want to find out, either.

“Up to your standards yet, Mr. I-Just-Had-My-First-Kiss-Yesterday-And-Am-Already-Picky?” Newt joked.

“Definitely,” Thomas nodded.

Newt rolled his eyes, gently shoving Thomas’ shoulder. As he stared at him, though, the smile fell off of his face. Thomas found himself frowning, too.

“What’s wrong?” He questioned. Had he done something wrong?

Seemingly knowing exactly what was going through his thoughts, the older boy shook his head and squeezed his hands assuringly.

“You haven’t done anything, Tommy. I just know that it’s not easy to be fighting with your parent and I want to be sure that you’re okay. If you don’t feel like going anywhere, I don’t want you to push yourself just because you think you have to because it’s me.”

Oh. Newt was concerned about him? That was sweet. Not that he was surprised by that fact. Thomas was pretty sure that Newt would be the definition of sweet if their were a dictionary based off of people.

“Because it’s you? Have you always been this cocky?” Thomas joked, attempting to lighten the mood back up. Getting into feelings regarding his mother right now wasn’t exactly something he was keen on doing.

“I’m not being cocky! You’re just not good at hiding things. I can tell how eager you are to impress me despite already having me completely interested in you. I don’t want you to think you have to hold it all together for me or brush aside what you’re going through to be with me, is all.”

Shit. He really did have him entirely figured out.

“I promise this isn’t like that, okay? Being in that house might be the worst thing for me right now. My brain won’t stop going and it’s almost too much to handle. So, yeah, I….I don’t know. I kind of need you,” Thomas admitted.

Newt smiled soft at that and let go of Thomas’ hands, instead cupping his cheeks and kissing his forehead.

“You’ve got me. I promise,” He whispered against his skin. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I know the perfect place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another date thing ???? so soon ???? yes because it's what you all deserve.
> 
> i'm so so sorry that this took so long! i hope you guys enjoyed! ily and thanks for reading!
> 
> as always, i'd love to hear ur thoughts & stuff so feel free to hmu on twitter @heroicgay (i also tweet when i'm updating & post teasers)


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